The FIBA World Cup finished over the weekend with Spain coming away as the winners.
In a real shock the USA only finished 7th having been eliminated in the quarter finals by a rampant France. That win was led by our shooting guard; Evan Fournier with 22 points. France eventually finished in 3rd place with Evan scoring a solid 16 points.
The Magic Stats
The Magic players participating had stat lines as below:
Al-Farouq Aminu – small forward for Nigeria – played 5 game, averaging 8.2 pts per game, 6.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.4 steals & 1 block. Aminu had a positive impact on his team, contributing in all categories.
Khem Birch – center for Canada – played 5 games, averaging 11.6 ppg, 7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 2 steals & 1.4 blocks. His was a strong tournament on a team that wasn’t expected to progress beyond the group stages. He did what he does, attacking the boards & playing hard on defence.
Nikola Vucevic – center for Montenegro – played 5 games, scoring 14.6 ppg, 6.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals & 0.6 blocks. Vooch was solid in parts on a poor team. I have read an excellent appraisal by Phillip Rossman-Reich on Orlando Magic Daily, which broke down how Vooch has to learn to become more dominant as a leader.
Evan Fournier – shooting guard for France – played 8 games, scored 19.8 ppg, 3.8 rebounds, 3 assists, 0.9 steals & 0.1 block. After such a good championship Evan was named as one of the top five players in the tournament by featuring in the MVP Team of the Tournament.
The Hope For Evan
As Magic fans we have to hope this is the Fournier we see back in Orlando.
I’m not in agreement with many Magic fans who think Evan is a bum & to blame him for anything & everything. I do feel he needs to be more consistent & no arguments he did have a slump in form last season but he remained our most effective closer in a clutch situation.
It is perfectly reasonable for us Magic fans to want more from Evan & in this competition we have seen evidence that he is capable of delivering. I still have concerns about his consistency at the free throw line, especially for a player with a decent shot & who does draw fouls with his drives to the basket.
And On To The Season
Could this be the boost to his confidence that Evan has needed? We have only a few weeks to wait now to find out as the Magic begin their preseason friendlies on October 5th, before they open their regular season campaign on the 23rd October against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Amway.
Let’s Go Magic!
